Good Morning, Sunrise
by aridancer
Summary: The last thing Rue remembers is Katniss singing a lullaby to her as she lay upon the forest floor. She thought she would sleep forever... instead, she wakes up on a beautiful hilltop, and meets a golden lion and a girl named Lucy. One-shot.


[**A/N:** Hi there! Thanks for checking this out. It's a brief one-shot about where Rue wound up after she died. Let me know what you think in a review :)]

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from The Hunger Games or The Chronicles of Narnia.**

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Rue opened her eyes.

She tilted her head, trying to remember the last few notes of the lullaby that was echoing through her mind. Katniss had been singing it to her. And she'd put flowers in her hair.

Rue reached up to see if the flowers were still there. They were. But where was Katniss? And her tummy was hurting before. She'd been stabbed, she knew it. Now, she felt perfectly fine.

She looked around, taking in her surroundings. The sky was still bright and blue… but the dense canopy of forest trees that she had been staring up at as her vision faded were all gone, replaced by a majestic landscape of grassy green hills, far-off mountains and waterfalls, and even a castle in the distance. And everything seemed… fresher. More, more _real_, almost.

A young woman dressed in a lovely flowing green gown was walking by, alongside a great big golden lion. They were talking as though they were old friends, but the fact that the lion was speaking didn't seem strange or scary at all. In fact, it was kind of comforting.

"Katniss!" Rue called out, full of hope. But when the woman turned, it wasn't Katniss.

She smiled and came towards Rue, while the lion stayed where he was. "Hello there. My name is Lucy. What's yours?"

Rue felt suddenly shy. Lucy seemed to be older, but something about her made Rue feel like they were the same age. Lucy had a simple silver circlet nestled in her auburn curls, and a sweet, bright smile that made Rue feel a bit better.

"…I'm Rue."

"Well, Rue, I'm so glad to meet you. Do you know where you are?"

"No." Rue glanced over at the lion, who was still standing there on the hilltop. "But… I feel like I've met him before."

Lucy smiled. "Aslan knows and loves you very much, Rue. He has been watching over you for a long time. This is his country, and it's where I live now. We have many friends here; you'll meet them later. But now, Aslan would like to speak with you. Will you go to him?"

Rue's eyes were wide, but she nodded. She and Lucy joined hands almost instinctively, and the older girl led her over to Aslan.

The lion was so huge that he would have been terrifying if not for the kind look in his tawny eyes and the warm glow that he gave off. "Rue," he said in a low, gentle voice. "Are you frightened of me?"

Rue was quiet, but she shook her head no.

"Come closer, child. Touch my mane. Feel my fur."

Rue let go of Lucy's hand and did as he said. The corners of her mouth lifted. "You're soft."

Aslan rumbled pleasantly, and Lucy giggled; a tinkling laugh that rang throughout the air. "Dear girl," Aslan sighed. "Rue. You have been through many hardships, but you need not have fear any longer. I have brought you home, to a place of peace and love and harmony. Are you glad to be here?"

Rue nodded. She hugged Aslan; which should have been difficult because of his size, but for some reason, he was very easy to embrace. A few tears leaked from her eyes into Aslan's mane, but he didn't mind. When Rue stepped back, she was smiling.

"Come," Aslan said after a moment. They walked on; Lucy and Rue holding hands beside the lion.

"…Aslan?" Rue asked quietly.

"Yes, daughter?"

"Will Katniss come here, too? And my family?"

Aslan's mane ruffled as he nodded his assent. "Their time to join us has not yet arrived… but you will see them here someday."

"Good." Rue whistled four notes, lingering on the last one before she spoke again. "Aslan? Do you have… um… Do you have orchards here? And maybe trees that I could climb?"

Aslan smiled, his whiskers shining in the sunlight. "There are an endless number of trees here in my country. You may climb as many as you wish, dear one."

Rue sighed contentedly and began singing softly. Lucy joined in on the second round of the chorus, and their voices harmonized beautifully in the balmy air.

"Here it's safe, and here it's warm

Here the daisies guard you from every harm

Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true

Here is the place where I love you."


End file.
